The Role of the Senses in Horse Training

A rider’s position is very important, because horses can feel the slightest shift of weight in the saddle or pressure from the rider’s leg.

 The horse must rely on its senses in order to perceive the signals (often called cues) that the rider is giving. Touch and sound are the primary senses which are used.
 This is not a horse training manual. There are a number of training publications, often developed by breed organizations or successful trainers, which can provide more detailed information about how to train your horse.
  However, understanding the behavioral basis that the horse has for recognizing cues through its senses can be helpful in training.

The basic steps for using senses in training are:
 Stimuli - The trainer / rider initiates a cue, thus providing a stimulus to the horse.
 Sense - The horse “senses” the stimulus
 Response - The horse responds to the stimulus with an action
  Reinforcement - The trainer “reinforces” in a positive way by rewarding the correct response and in a negative way by discouraging an incorrect response.
 Good trainers recognize that each horse has its own “combination” and will develop at its own pace. Intelligence, individual energy level, previous experience and many other factors may affect response. Patience, repetition and building in small increments of success will give the best results. Over-use of negative reinforcement may yield a horse that is prone to nervousness. Use positive reinforcement more than negative if long-term development is desired. Do not expect reasoning powers that are beyond the powers of the horse to give.
 An extremely well-trained horse that was trained by a professional is likely to “come untrained” when ridden by a novice if reinforcement schedules are not maintained.